उपयोगकर्ता समीक्षाएं

Few movies can truthfully be called "unique," but this comes close. It's a bizarre hybrid, set in Atlantis in 20,000 B.C., which combines the "Hercules" genre with the kind of science-fiction motifs found in Flash Gordon serials. True, the plot is the usual strongman-vs-the-evil-tyrant affair, but the "look" and "atmosphere" surrounding this plot make for striking viewing and have that touch of stylized madness found in only a handful of movies. (Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and David Lynch's "Dune" are some of the few comparable efforts which spring to mind.) Adding to the almost-hypnotic effect is a somber, restrained, at times almost atonal music score.

Gordon Mitchell spends the entire movie in one of those "Hercules" loincloths and one never tires of looking at his bare torso which is often contorted into a variety of "bondage" positions.

Only in the final cataclysm do the proceedings become routine but for the most part this movie is one of the cinema's most eccentric flights of imagination.

Got to give this ultra low budget, horrendously dubbed Italian Sword and Sandal clunker credit for trying something different.Adds a heavy dosage of Science- Fiction to the mix.The baddie resembles Bela Lugosi, the hero a less handsome Charlton Heston and the " Giant" to me at least resembled Harry H Corbett's werewolf from " Carry On Screaming" even though this was made three years before that.The climatic destruction of Atlantis takes place in near darkness, to hide the cheap cardboard sets and lack of them.Pretty bad, but i almost felt sorry for them, they did the best they could.

This amounts to Fritz Langs' "Metropolis" (1927), mixed with a good dose of "sword and sandals" film, with plenty of cheesecake and beefcake.

In Atlantis Obro is on a quest to Metropolis, to warn its king Yotar that his misuse of science will cause the downfall of Metropolis and all its residents. Suddenly, Obro and companions are hit with a "magnetic death ray" that only Obro survives, the others being turned into skeletons. Obro is then taken by soldiers to the King, who has him selected for a brain transplant for his son, because Obro is of "superior blood". The whole film plays like a Flash Gordon serial.

Gordon Mitchell is a suitable hunk of beefcake, who throws soldiers and boulders around like they were toys. Rodalno Lupi bears a resemblance to Charles Middleton, who played Ming the Merciless in at least one Flash Gordon serial. Bella Cortez's Mesede resembles Princess Aura; here she is redeemed by her love for Obro.

The futuristic Art Direction is by Giorgio Giovannini, who worked with Mario Bava on 1965's "Planet of the Vampires", and other Bava films. The sets and set decoration borrow from the Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians, and Chinese, depending on the scene.

The cinematography is by Mario Sensi. The wild color scheme resembles that of "Planet of the Vampires" (1965) and "Hercules in the Haunted World" (1961), except the dominant color is red instead of orange.

The script is wonderfully stupid. My favorite line; Obro to Mesede : "We're made alike!" Not really, although they both have big chests.

Watch for the wedding dance, and the swords that look like canoe paddles. Last half hour of the film must have used a ton of dry ice. In spite of being great fun, I can only give it a 4/10.

Get out the popcorn, junior mints and sodas for this Italian-made grindhouse spectacular. It's ripe with just about every conceivable fetishistic delight that you could get away with at a Saturday matinee or drive-in double feature. There's sword-and-sandal thrills, sci-fi funk, lots of male and female pulchritude, and a wildly sado-masochistic tone that really carries it over the top (as these things go). Only the tightest of asses couldn't enjoy this kind of late-night exploitation sleaze, so check it out and have a groovy movie party! See the terrors, the tortures, the tantalizing lust and all the other sleazy stuff that makes a lost empire cool!

On paper, this epic 60s sci-fi peplum sounds really cool: it's got astonishing set design, Bava-style art direction, outlandish costumes and weaponry, an insane tyrant, a doomed empire, beautiful women in distress, and strongman Gordon Mitchell battling it out with numerous armed guards, a massive hairy troglodyte, and five flesh eating pygmies.

In actuality, it is far from impressive...

Although the film looks great at times, with particularly good use of light and shadow (and a legendary amount of dry ice), it is severely hampered by a dreary, repetitive script, terrible dubbing and poor performances: star Mitchell's physique might have made him perfect for the genre, but he clearly spent much more time developing his pectorals than his acting skills.

Speaking of magnificent chests, The Giant of Metropolis does at least benefit from the presence of drop dead gorgeous Euro-babes Bella Cortez and Liana Orfei as Princess Mecede and Queen Texen, both of whom have va-va-voom to spare; neither woman seems to be a particularly good actress, but when they're built like that, who cares?

Production values, when they are high quality can make a film great. Unfortunately, this production did suffer a bit from lack of funds. However, the story remains timeless, and the imaginative sets and costumes added something different and magical.

I would definitely recommend watching this film, although I believe it deserves a re-make. It is a cross between a peplum-Hercules style movie and Shelley Duval's Faeire Tale Theater.

This film struck me as being about three hours long. I don't mind Italian Peplum films so much (I'm not a rabid fan of them either, mind), but this film had serious pacing issues that caused me to either be mildly interested in what was going on to drooling slightly while having anxiety dreams about a bunch of Czech nurses wanting to irrigate my colon.

Justin Beber lookalike Gorgon Mitchell is Orbo, some eco-warrior all out to give some guy a guilt trip about his scientific experiments in the city of Metropolis. Old' Gord is all out to prove that recycling, sustainable energy sources, and so on is the way forward, but this film was made in 1961 and the bad guy does not care in the slightest.

My problem with this film is that it's not very good. Things that should be exciting are dragged on forever (like fighting bad guys, the eco-disaster, all that crap). I don't mind Gordon Mitchell, but...I don't know (I'll have to add that bit in later but I need a pish).

This is one of them Mill Creek films you can pick up for next to nothing so don't worry about it. Good bad guy kill ratio however.

Along with THE FURY OF ACHILLES (1962), with which I should re-acquaint myself presently, this is perhaps muscle-bound and pug-ugly Gordon Mitchell's finest hour. The film is an intriguing mix of peplum and sci-fi: I purposefully watched it and the similar (and contemporaneous) L'ATLANTIDE on consecutive days but, in the long run, this is the one to blend the two more successfully (or, if you like, outrageously) by way of imaginative (if clearly cheap i.e. mostly model and matte shots!) and atmospherically-lit sets a' la the work of Mario Bava, weird (and curiously baggy) costumes, and even odd-shaped (to say nothing of unwieldy) weaponry; incidentally, in the opening text scroll, we are told that Metropolis is just another name for Atlantis! The name of the (futuristic) city involved, then, obviously evokes Fritz Lang's seminal masterwork from 1927 and this even does it outright homage by having Metropolis eventually submerged in water (supposedly the fate of the real 'Lost Continent').

Anyway, Mitchell arrives on the scene, ostensibly in search of a promised land, with a whole entourage – but, in the space of five minutes, his father has kicked the bucket of old age and exhaustion, the leader of an accompanying faction opts to go his own way, and the hero's two brothers have a literal meltdown due to the radioactive atmosphere surrounding Metropolis! His own constitution elicits fear and doubt in the mad ruler of the city: the latter is engaged in transplanting the brain of an ancient sage (whom he constantly visits for advise, so much for his supposed superiority!) into his own child-son; he has an elder daughter (who occasionally gratifies him with a sexy exotic dance!) and, following the mysterious death of his wife, married a woman several years his junior (whom he anxiously – and authoritatively – paws despite being obviously hated by her!). As for his subjects, these are a mass of anonymous zombies who invariably rally in the square opposite the palace to cheer or curse as the case may be (but with arms enthusiastically outstretched on both occasions!) – when he decides to revive a former lieutenant of his, however, he is repaid by the latter's conspiring with Mitchell et al to thwart his evil plans!

To get back to the hero, he is imprisoned (via a temperature-altering beam of light, which has him make funny faces whilst appearing to be choking!) and forced into shows-of-strength with a variety of mutant monsters: a giant, which he fells with the over-sized skeletal jaw of some unidentified animal, and a horde of cannibalistic pygmies! Eventually, he meets and conquers – in the romantic sense, naturally – the King's female offspring (she pines for the outside world when shown furtive glimpses of it)…while her step-mom succumbs to suicide by poison rather than reveal the escaped Mitchell's whereabouts. To make matters worse for the King, Metropolis is apparently under constant threat from the elements, specifically Equatorial disorder (which he has scientists continually observe through a periscope and insistently urges them to come up with a solution to the imminent catastrophe!)…and, when one had thought his spirits could not sink any lower, he is haunted by his father's ghost (clearly disapproving of his toying with the Laws of Nature)!

Umberto Scarpelli stepped infrequently in the director's chair (THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS –reasonably engaging but invincibly juvenile such as it is – was the last of only 5, for 3 of which he actually shared the credit with somebody else!); incidentally, the producer/co-writer of the film under review was Emimmo Salvi, who would himself graduate to helming a variety of low-brow "Euro-Cult" fare and worked 6 times in all with the star – a viewing of one of these, THE TREASURE OF THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1965), followed the very next day...

1961's "The Giant of Metropolis" (Il Gigante di Metropolis) kick started a 40 year starring career for Denver-born Gordon Mitchell, with over 150 credits up until his death in 2003. 20,000 BC is when our story takes place, the lost continent of Atlantis and its great city of Metropolis still reigning over the earth, with only Mitchell's bare chested Obro daring to oppose the despotic ruler Yotar (Roldano Lupi), so feared for his advanced scientific methods to maintain power over an enslaved populace. He ignores warnings of an impending natural disaster, hopes to grant his son immortality despite objections from the boy's mother, and fears the arrival of Obro for his incredible prowess as an unbeatable warrior. Obro becomes mostly a supporting figure with the focus on the villain's multiple tasks, the first half putting our hero through a series of tests, a single one on one battle with a knuckle dragging Neanderthal whose own club is used against him, the second providing him an opportunity to swat guards like flies with barely a whiff when not rescuing Yotar's beautiful daughter (Bella Cortez). It's understandable to see Obro lose a battle with pygmy cannibals due to being outnumbered, but only embarrassment results when he's defeated by a shaft of light! As many as six screenwriters cram as much as possible into this curious mixture, a death ray, TV monitors, brain transplants, mind control, and the expected destruction of Atlantis. Ads for the picture promised 'Dwarfs of Death,' Mitchell's bout with the flesh eating pygmies proving there is strength in numbers. Another mentions 'women who live forever,' which would make better sense if it referred to the little tyke promised immortality by his all powerful father, while the tagline 'the city destroyed by cataclysm' sets up the climactic flood, with all their scientists unable to prevent the earth from shifting on its axis. The action is quite repetitive, as our barrel chested hero uses a weapon that might be charitably described as looking like a feather duster to drop every opponent in thuddingly dull fashion. For male viewers, we have a brief appearance from Liana Orfei as the scantily clad Queen, Cuban-born Bella Cortez as the Princess who finally opposes her father. Despite the many deviations from type it remains an overly talkative outing lacking the great action set pieces that helped Gordon Scott's superior entry "Goliath and the Vampires."

This is the ultimate Italo-kitsch-sword and sandal-science fiction something. The early 60's cinematic Zeitgeist in Italy was certainly unique. This one has some knockout art direction and costumes along with some pretty moody photography. Then there's your cheesy (but fun) fight scenes. It also has a some crummy special effects, monotone dubbed acting, and somewhat slow pace; but you fans of the genre knew that already and all you others will just have to try it for yourselves. You either love these kinds of films or loath them with a passion- (said in a low, dubbed, monotone voice) WHICH WILL YOU BE? A great minimalist musical score, too. I give this one an 8 because of what it is- just plain bizarre weirdness that may appeal to those of you with a certain kind of mindset. Gordon Mitchell sure is ugly but he's perfect as the put-upon (and I mean PUT-UPON) hero.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Umberto Scarpelli; Produced by Emmimo Salvi, released in America as "Giant of the Metropolis" by Seven Arts Productions. Screenplay by Gino Stafford, Emmimo Salvi, Ambrogio Molteni, Sabatino Ciuffini and Oreste Paiella; Photography by Oberdan Troiani; Edited by Franco Fraticelli; Music by Armando Trovajoli; English Dubbing director: Richard McNamara; English Dubbing Script: John Davis Hart. Starring: Gordon Mitchell, Bella Cortez, Roldano Lupi and Carlo Tamberlani.

Combination science fiction and muscleman-in-loincloth feature, where feudalistic state of the future's scientists/priests experiment with immortality.

Co.

What a turkey! The 1960s saw a rash of what were called Spaghetti Westerns - Westerns made in Italy with American actors. Here though we have a spaghetti period drama cum science fiction film? Sort of, combining it with the hero's journey, whose task is what, precisely?

In spite of its simple script, the plot of this film is not easy to understand though clearly it is going to end badly for someone. The fight scenes are not simply implausible but ludicrous, though not in a humorous sort of way as with for example the 1960s Batman TV series that featured Adam West and Burt Ward punching out the bad guys with the sound effects shown in big letters on the screen.

In this film, the hero is captured and could have been killed more than once, but the deluded ruler of Metropolis decides to torture and humiliate him instead.

Having said that, there is nothing X-rated herein, but seriously, give this one a miss, there were far better adventure films than this made even before 1961.

I've now sat through THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS, from Italian director Umberto Scarpelli, twice and it's only getting more difficult to watch. I was able to find some laughable material the first time through with its hilarious archaic message, but the melodrama and snail pacing made it a painful 90 minutes when I tried to sit through it again. It's part sword and sandal epic/part science fiction cautionary tale and 100% endurance trial for this viewer. THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS is the tale of Obro (Gordon Mitchell), a muscle-bound barbarian from a distant land who has travelled with his father, brothers, and townsfolk to deliver a dire warning to Yotar (Roldano Lupi), king of Metropolis. Yotar is a diabolical scientist whose experiments spit in the very face of death, if you can be bothered to understand what those experiments are. Regardless, Obro's father dies before reaching Metropolis and the townsfolk abandon Obro and his brothers to continue their journey alone. When his brothers are killed in a…lightning tornado attack (?)…Obro is left to face Yotar alone. Imprisoned, tortured, and thrown into gladiatorial combat, Obro struggles to press on and continues to warn Yotar of the consequences for a life of science and the gall to challenge nature. Obro proves his strength in challenge after challenge as Metropolis edges toward annihilation, and he soon discovers sympathetic minds where he least expects it. But will Obro and his new allies succeed in time to save the people of Metropolis? No, he won't because, as explained in the opening text scrawl, Metropolis is Atlantis. And we all know how that ended up…

Yeah, that's right. Metropolis is Atlantis and this movie is set 20,000 years ago. In case there's any hope remaining for Obro to succeed in his quest, the opening scrawl contains the following omen:

"When scientists of Metropolis attempted to penetrate the secret of death, nature rebelled, causing universal destruction…"

So really, you don't have to go any further than the first five minutes of the film. It gives you the ending right there. I'm unsure why Atlantis is referred to as Metropolis. It might be an Italian-English translation error or Metropolis might be the capital/largest city in the land of Atlantis. I don't know and it's never explained. And what is Yotar's weird science that leads to the destruction of Metropolis/Atlantis? Piecing it together is half the fun. I got the impression that he was transferring the brain of his elderly father into the body of his young son, Elmos. Then he would transfer his son's brain into the body of an older guy, I guess. I'm really not sure. I know his ultimate goal was immortality (for his father and his son, I guess…but not himself?) and his science incorporated astrology because the screenwriters just don't understand science. Or it could be because there were six separate people with screen writing credits on this thing. It's confusing and, as a result, dull because I don't know what we're working toward.

I suppose none of that is important though because the central message to walk away from THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS with is "science is evil". This movie is so preachy, it's almost anti-intellectual propaganda. And, if you really look at the movie through a skewed lens, it's essentially condoning terrorism. Let's break it down: Yotar and his society are science-oriented. Obro comes from a simple society that worships nature and an unspecified, omnipotent force. Obro arrives to preach the evils of science and the pursuit of knowledge, and he threatens total destruction if he is not heeded. Yotar, understandably, disagrees and proceeds to put Obro through a series of tests because he's not seen strength of this magnitude before in any one man (Ok, admittedly, imprisonment and forced combat weren't Yotar's most sympathetic choices). Obro escapes and proceeds to engage in guerilla attacks against Yotar's people, at one point even dropping in to slaughter a funeral procession. I'm painting in broad strokes here but that's because, halfway through this film, I'd zoned out and the finer details skated right past me.

Some highlights to be found in THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS are Gordon Mitchell's broad theatrical performance (especially when miming battles against a beam of light), Obro's battles against a hairy cave troll and a swarm of flesh-ripping pygmies, the strange interpretive dance number (with plenty o' thrusting), and, honestly, the production design. It's incredibly minimalistic but I liked the wide, spacious chambers with sparse columns, carvings, and statues. I also enjoyed the costume design and the use of miniatures to create Metropolis. And, of course, there's the final 7 minute or so sequence where Metropolis meets his end. Plenty of stock footage and wave-pool action going on, making for a glorious end to a sluggish film.

This one isn't too bad. It's about the evil Il re Yotar who's planing on taking over the entire world, controlling weather, and more - plus he's got the secret to immortality. Our hero is muscle man Obro who is considered a terrorist to Yotar because he's trying to stop Yotar's evil, diabolical plans to concur and rule all with his super science! But is Obro and his god stronger than the science that might destroy all?! (I'm sure you know the answer already without watching the film.) LOVE will end up conquering all Ha-ha!

Really, this isn't a horrible Peplum Sci-Fi film. It's got entertaining moments with some fun but silly dialogue and special effects to keep it interesting enough.

6/10

In the year 20,000 B.C. on the continent of Atlantis, in the city of Metropolis King Yotar rules a very scientifically advanced, yet inhumane, civilisation. A muscle bound hero Obro arrives there to attempt to put an end to this reign of terror.

This sword and sandal flick is a little different from most in the peplum genre in that it is set way before the Roman or even Greek times. Not only this but it's one of those specific entries in the genre, like Hercules Against the Moon Men, which incorporates a sci-fi element into its fantasy scenario. In this case a super-advanced scientific civilisation and a King who conducts crazed experiments on his son in a manner similar to a mad scientist. He also puts the hero Obro through various tests, such as a gladiatorial fight with a murderous giant and an encounter with a group of hairy savages. But in essence this one is still basically very similar in feel to the other strong man peplum movies featuring the likes of Maciste and Hercules. As such, Giant of Metropolis is one which drags a lot of the time and gets quite tedious on occasion, yet is interspersed with memorable scenes, while its sets and costuming ensure that it will always have enough production value about it to ensure it will always retain some watch-ability and kitsch value.

Hmmm... outside of the poor dubbing, I don't really understand how this gets basted as a turkey. I suppose you could eat cheetos and drink beer and watch it with your buds. It's entertaining, but hardly Maciste Against Hercules In The Valley Of Woe or similar low budget quickies full of unintentional laughs. It's more sci-fi than sandal due to the urgent "message" it attempts to teach us modern scientific men. Evidently the producers saw in the script an important project because they lavished the greater part of their creative energies on the costumes, set designs, lighting and camera set-ups. Like movies today, the stars are not found in the cast but in the art director's studio. If it weren't in color, Giant Of Metropolis might easily be mistaken for some expressionistic epic cooked up by Fritz Lang in 1925 or one of those "new wave" European productions of The Ring cycle from the 60s and 70s. The heavy symbolism is transcribed visually, and the Roman crafts people behind the scenes must have been pleased at the oppressive but strangely beautiful world they realized. So don't expect much exciting action, character development or witty dialog. But do expect a Roman giant of sorts, one with an under-appreciated place in the ranks of thoughtfully produced sci-fi cinema.

GIANT OF METROPOLIS is pure unadulterated camp fun! Seconding the motion & comments by The Vid of Colorado Springs, this sword and sandal Italian import from the Sixties has just been released on DVD at long last. This was one of my childhood faves and showcases blond hunk Gordon Mitchell, sets by Bava protege Giorgio Giovannini, wild Sodomite dancing, feathered dancers, magnetic death rays, costumes right out of PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, and this is a must-see for all lovers of Italian sci-fi! Pure guilty pleasure at its best!

I am another one of the viewers who loved this film. Not exactly because its a great movie but because it just looks so freaking cool and is so super duper trippy man!! Some wild new rock band should absolutely show this thing on a large screen behind their next big gig. I found myself constantly pausing the movie just to freeze some of the especially visually compelling frames. This movie is just to much. Truly we have here a classic feature in the weird cinema genre. You can watch this for free on TV4u.com. What the heck is up with those freaky swords that look like dust mops...crazy! James Whale would have been proud to have his name attached to this one and Mario Bava's fingerprints are all over it..like somebody already mentioned. Holy freakout Batman...this flick should be a can't miss for fans of the truly trippy video scene. Whoa!